Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, has left its former chief executive Sir Terry Leahy "very disappointed" as it suffered its worst trading in decades.
"As a shareholder I am very disappointed," Leahy told Sky News. "I know the business will be disappointed and the board will be keen to take whatever action is necessary in order to improve the situation.
"Tesco is a great business. And it's a great employer and we need to see it back with confidence and growing again."
Tesco recently revealed that its like-for-like sales had slid 3.7% over hte last three months, just weeks after it posted falling profits for the second year in a row.
The torrid trading period has piled pressure on Tesco's current CEO Philip Clarke, who took over in March 2011. However, he has dismissed any suggestion that he would have to resign and insisted that the supermarket's strategy is working.
Internationally, the supermarket giant recorded a 2.2% fall in like-for-like sales, including VAT and excluding petrol. Within those figures, sales fell 1% across Tesco's European operations and 3.2% in Asia.
Leahy's comments come as Tesco's banking arm launched its first current account, with an attack at the "ridiculously poor value" offered by rivals.
Tesco Bank said it wanted to avoid "smoke and mirrors", with an account offering 3% interest on balances but will charge a £5 fee unless holders pay in £750 a month.
Chief executive Benny Higgins: "It is a market dominated by smoke and mirrors and we have tried to be as transparent as possible. The vast majority of current accounts are languishing with ridiculously poor value.
"There is still very little switching taking place in the UK and it's because people think that all the banks are the same."
Six Reasons Tesco's Dominance May Be Finished
Tesco can't shrug off its poor performance(01 of06)
Open Image ModalClarke blamed the dip in sales on cutting prices, moving away from vouchers and the disruption from refurbishing a large number of stores.However, Bernstein Research's Bruno Monteyne estimates that if you took out such costs, their like-for-like sales would still have dipped by 2%.
Tesco is trying too hard to appeal to everyone (02 of06)
Open Image ModalDiscount retailers like Asda specialise in offering good deals, while fancy supermarkets like Waitrose are without equal at providing luxury. So Tesco is trying to be a mix of everything, other customers are lured away by more specialised rivals.
Others are doing what Tesco is trying, but better(03 of06)
Open Image ModalTesco "has been increasing prices way too fast over the last few years to keep up earnings growth," Monteyne points out.As a result, compared to discount retailers like Asda, Tesco is at least 4% more expensive for shoppers.
1 million fewer customers are visiting a week(04 of06)
Open Image ModalThe proof that Tesco is having some issues comes in the footfall, as the chain seems to have lost more than 1 million customer visits a week, worth £25 million in sales.
Tesco has never done this badly (05 of06)
Open Image ModalClarke, who has worked for 40 years at Tesco, admitted: “I have never seen a quarter’s like-for-like sales like this before, that I can remember."Monteyne told Radio 5 Live the results were "the worst in their history."
Even Tesco's boss isn't confident (06 of06)
Open Image Modal“I see every day the improvements that are coming in the business, but I’m not making any promises about sales improving in the next few quarters," Clarke warned today. Meanwhile, other analysts like Julie Palmer at Begbies Traynor think Clarke "doesn't seem to have a clear turnaround strategy". He'll have to work hard to prove them wrong.